Shipmates Forever (1935)

Memorable, crazy movie

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Believe you me, 6/10 is a generous mark for this disappointing malarkey from Warner Brothers, which finds director Frank Borzage at Annapolis Naval Academy. I liked Borzage very much, but he was always inclined to go overboard on sentiment unless restrained by a bullying producer. In this one, Frank was given the green light by a producer who allowed him to wallow in sentiment so long as he kept the movie's overall costs to a minimum. Needless to say, Frank took full advantage of the producer's offer. "Shipmates Forever" absolutely wallows in sentiment. True, Borzage's craftsmanship cannot be faulted. Indeed, on one or two occasions, it is even a little inventive. But alas, on far, far too many occasions, "Shipmates Forever" is just plain boring. Admittedly, we must also point an accusing finger at Delmer Daves who allegedly wrote this cliché- ridden rubbish. And alas, there are two more big disappointments, I feel I should draw to your attention before you rush out and buy the DVD. I know all you Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler fans (in which I include myself) will buy the DVD anyway, but be warned that expert photographer Sol Polito presumably hated Ruby Keeler and has made her look absolutely awful. In fact, I would give this movie my number one award for the Most Unatractively Photographed Heroine ever (although admittedly it doesn't look half as vicious on DVD as it does on a big movie screen). At twelve reels, the movie runs far too long. Even the songs by the topflight team, Harry Warren and Al Dubin, are, to say the least second rate, uninspired, forgettable...

While this film has a few very familiar clichés and Dick Powell is way too old to play a college freshman, it is an enjoyable film....and one I recommend.When the film begins, Dick (Dick Powell) is visiting his father, the Admiral (Lewis Stone). Their meeting is a bit tense, as the Admiral longs for his son to join the Navy and make a man of himself. Dick is more content to be a successful singer. Additionally, Dick's lady (Ruby Keeler) likes that Dick isn't in the Navy, as her family has a long naval history...and she's lost a couple close loved ones during the war. Inexplicably, Dick suddenly reverses himself and joins the Naval Academy!! This DEFINITELY came from out of no where and soon he's in Annapolis doing everything but going to classes. Like most college films of the era, they never show any of the men going to classes! Instead, Dick is hazed and he remains aloof from the other cadets. After all, he has no intention of staying in the Navy for long. And, not surprisingly, the Admiral is ashamed to call him his son. Can Dick redeem himself and gain a sense of camaraderie? Or will he remain a bit of a butt-head? What do you think?This film follows a very familiar pattern seen in many film (such as "A Yank at Eton" and even "A Chump at Oxford" to an extent). But it manages to do it very well...better than I'd expected. Much of this is due to Powell's nice performance and much of it is the nice location shooting...aboard ships and at the Academy. Worth seeing even if the picture is a bit dated and predictable.

Frank Borzage is my favorite American director of the thirties (and of the twenties).His movies have worn so well ,his heroes are so endearing that I'm deeply moved every time I watch one of them.But this one....It may be "flirtation walk 2" but it has nothing of the greatness that shows in almost every work of the director:is it the same man who made "the mortal storm" ,"three comrades " (a paean to friendship which is far superior to "Shipmates forever") "Little man,what now?" "man's castle" ?It seems the negation of such works as "no greater glory" or " a farewell to arms" .Borzage 's heroes have to fight against an hostile world ("seventh Heaven" "street angel" "little man what now?") they are sweet rebels whose weapon is love and only love.Borzage's girls are not bimbos ,they are sometimes stronger than their male co-stars (see "the river" or "stranded" or "After tomorrow").Dick Powell's Richard is terribly bourgeois ,terribly conformist.Either he is stupid not to follow his dream (crooning) or he is the worthy (Hollywoodian) son from the start .Even more unpleasant is Ruby Keeler's June :not only she lost her father and her brother (in the navy) but she would not accept to marry Richard if he gave up the academy;an user smartly pointed out that it was exactly the subject of Taylor Hackford's "an officer and a gentleman" (1981),but it does not make "shipmates forever" a movie ahead of its time.Sorry to write this ,but this well-meaning jingoistic couple has nothing to do with most of all Borzage's lovers.Since it's a musical,Dick Powell sings four or five songs (depending on the version you're watching,the restored one lasting 2 hours+).Borzage's touch can be felt in one short sequence: the shipmate who failed his exams in the officer's office and his harsh words to the hero (who gets what he deserves anyway).To make a movie about the navy just after another one called "stranded " (in the figurative ,of course) is it a bit ironical on the director's part?In spite of its title,in "stranded" ,the heroine is not a passive sluggish navy girl "who comes second" like June who is nothing but a human medal.

first movie i ever saw in person. i was very impressed and, although only five, i was ready to enlist in the navy. i have seen it several times since then and still think it is a good movie. although some might think it dated and anachronistic it still has a good deal to say about duty and honor. those things are in short supply today.